Which is better?
 

In the never-ending discussion over whether the old forum-based ad system is better than the new one, we have created a chart of features comparing both systems side-by-side.

Of course, it will take folks more time to get acquainted with the new system's features AND we are working out the kinks, but on a feature-by-feature comparison, well....you be the judge.

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/compare-class.cfm]See comparison[/link]

RE: Which is better?
 

I have been getting used to the new market place, but just cant seem to get real comfy with it. I think I just now figured out why. Now the new market place has a lot of really cool features and a lot of other goodies, but I think what is missing is the personal interaction. I think that is the correct term. The older marketplace was a lot more informal, more like a live swapmeet. It was more casual, and less structured. It fit in more with the RCU "family" or "good friends" type atmosphere.
In the old forum format, it was like you were at the field making a deal to buy some kool new airplane, or selling a motor to flying buddy.
I don't know if I expressed my view exactly right but I think you get the idea.

RE: Which is better?
 

TLH101 You did a goog job of explaining it'

I liked the old thread lay-out, each forum was for a "type of sale" kits 4sale, engines 4sale and arf, warbirds, Radios, Heli's etc.

But each item for sale had the distinction and merrit of being a one on one with those interested, the activity was right up front from those interested in buying to the sellers responses.

I can't help but think if you kept the same set-up and added the hyperlinks or icons to each post for the new features, it may have gotten more interest and less static.

Michael,

I like the new format features and lay-out as well, I think You All have done a great job on the initial release and look forward to the improved code release.

But time will tell and as we get used to the new, the old way becomes more apart of the past.

RE: Which is better?
 

I don't care either way, as 90% of what's offered is 'USA only'

RE: Which is better?
 

Isn't that because "USA" is the only country selected as the default? Its a little tedious to have to control-click on each individual country in that list.

Perhaps the list can be shortened? Break it down by continents, or something similar.

RE: Which is better?
 

My sales everywhere say that, but I have had people ask if I would ship to other countries and have always said yes. I seem to forget to click the option more often than not, but if asked, will always help someone trying to buy. Not all people will, but it doesn't hurt to ask if you want an item.

RE: Which is better?
 

Hey, good feedback, guys.

On the US stuff, users can set their shipping defaults once and never mess with it again. The country selector is there because there are certain countries on the same continent that folks just won't ship to. Africa is a good example because folks in SA might not send to Egypt. Regardless, we could default it to "Worldwide" and that might get some seller's attention when they preview their ad!

What do you guys think?

Take a look at the form (edit one of your ads or just go to My Market and click Settings. Then click the link to Modify your Defaults. Tell me what you think works best.

Possibly a "Negotiable" option?

RE: Which is better?
 

Didn't know it was a 'default'. just thought the thought of sending across the border turned a few (a lot) off..

Our dollar being what it is, there are a few deals!!

make it default to 'nothing' (blank)... and the pull down list will have the options..

RE: Which is better?
 

The one post above about the "homey" feel. I certainly understand that and that is why both Michael & I have gone to great lengths to incorporate the posting and interaction within the ad system as it was on the old site.

There are 2 types of systems when it comes to selling. Well actually one real system and that is an internet classified system which is the standard. The 2nd one which RC people got stuck in for years was using a discussion forum to buy and sell. What I found was as RCU grew users asked more and more for features and functionality that could ONLY exist in a true classified system. See the comparison chart.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/market/compare-class.cfm

So my brainstorm was to step back, think about what is great about a classified system, what users love about a forum system and turn what you witness as the new RCU Marketplace into a hybrid best of both worlds solution. There is no forum that can do what ours does. There is no classified system that can do what ours does.

Essentially my goal was to make a "structured" ad at the top to ensure consistency (i.e. always have price, location, terms, etc) in ad listings which is what users wanted and then follow up with a discussion forum which has all the stuff that the forums have (well...I just realized we need the avatars!). This allows the interaction and guarantees the information that everybody always wants to see (or what used to require a team of moderators constantly correcting and fixing items without prices or other info). Also the listing structure allows search by location, keyword, browse or pinpoint and all the other stuff this market does as shown on the compare page above.

There have been 100's of suggestions made and implemented already since launch. It will always be a work in progress as we strive for having nothing less than the best for our membership. We are working very hard for you.

There are now all sorts of default settings to speed your way as you sell, buy or browse. Set them once and your done. RCU is about options and making the site work the way you want it to work.

It is different from what many who used forums for years to trade are used to. I know that. It will take time for those who have long history with forum selling to feel "at home" again. This is human nature and we expect that and understand that. In the meantime we continue to listen, streamline and take suggestions.

RE: Which is better?
 

Features are nice, but too many can be bad.

Remember back in the 70's when you went to buy shoes and they came in white bue or black and the only other option you had to pick out was if you wanted the 3 stripes or not. It took all of 10 minutes to find a pair

Go to the shoe department now. Holy crap - it takes an hour to find one that you are not embarassed to wear. Notice I didn't say like - I said not embarassed to wear.

I guess what I am trying to say in my somewhat lame analogy is that sometimes less choices is better. The same applys to features.

Also, I can not point to a specific reason why - but I just don't like the feel of the marketplace. I sell on EBAY a lot, so I don't mind paying fees to sell an item. I just like a certain feel and audience - its hard to quantify or qualify this for me.

Taxman

RE: Which is better?
 

Taxman - Some will love it. Some will hate it. Some will be indifferent. I dealt with same on the old site. Some love it and others not so much.

Anwyay...we just added paging to the listings so you can now page freely through every page of listings. Much easier to navigate.

Also we will be adding the featured listings so they don't appear on every page as you go through the listings. They will appear once stacked at the beginning and then as you page through you get to the regular listings without having to view features at the top of every page.

RE: Which is better?
 

I like the changes you're making Marc, but I agree with Terry (TLH101)'s assessment. (It's the description of what I've felt, but just couldn't describe.)

The other HUGE part of it was, as has been stated, the breakdown; kits, ARF's, engines,....

One other thing, that "structured" ad at the top is extremely confusing and hard to read. I've probably looked at 100 or more classified ads, and still have to search for 'when the guy joined', where he's from, what his "rating" is. I doubt that it's just me because I'm usually pretty quick to pick up on changes and new formats.

That's my biggest objection now because the 'old' forum based classifieds are fading in my mind and I'm starting to get use to the new style. (Still liked the old better though.)

All in all you've done an incredible job with the new RCU. and I have to commend you for that. But as the cliche goes, not all change is for the better. (Even if the majority of it is.)
Dennis-

RE: Which is better?
 

Oh, this is really nice, now you have to page through 4 pages to get to regular listings.[:@]
I'm don't mean to attack, I realize you are trying to make it better, but this appears to be a step backwards.

RE: Which is better?
 

Terry,

The way it was you had to scroll past a random set of 8 features at the top of EVERY page. Now you can look at the ads starting with the featured ads and then on to the standard listings.

the 4 pages only exists when you hit the main topic like Airplanes. If you drill down into any specific category like "Jets" then you don't see pages and pages. This is because when clicking airplanes ALL the listings and features bubble up from all the categories below it.

To make jumping ahead easier or jumping back we have individual page numbers like the forums do.

I was finding that users were complaining about scrolling past the features on every single page and it was bugging me too since once you have seen them it is redundant to show them on every subsequent page over and over.

The featured ads are listings. You said you have to scroll past them to get to the "regular" listings. In reality the ads are ALL listings. The only thing different is that the seller opted for being a feature instead of sitting in the general sort order of the non-featured listings.

Now let's compare to forum behaviour where a guy could bump his ad by simply adding a picture or saying "I'll toss in shipping". Now he is back at the top of the list. His listing isn't current it could be 3 weeks old and he just bumped himself back to the top. Worse yet say 20 ads in a forum are all over a week old and 20 users post to those ads asking questions. You wake up and the FIRST 20 ADS are all these old ads you have seen listed days ago but are now at the top of the list just because somebody asked a question on them. I've seen this happen to ads weeks and months old on the forums. It has no rhyme or reason and is extremely inefficient.

I cannot begin to tell you how many complaints I got about lack of features and other undesirable behaviour of a pseudo-classified system like the discussion forums were. Discussion forums are built for discussions and are not well suited for buying and selling in volume. We simply outgrew them. If you want a lot of activity and choice this is the next progression.

I could have let the discussion based swap shops slowly die a death as they crushed under their own weight but as an owner of this site I could not let that happen. Not everyone knows what I know. Everyone has not fielded the 1000's of emails and PM"s regarding the shortcomings of the old swap based discussion forums. From where I sit my vision is clear about where we had to go to survive and continue to serve the membership. Some will fall to the wayside. When cars came along many refused to drive them as their horse worked just fine. If it ain't broke....So I ask. How many of you ride horses instead of drive cars to work? :)

No need to reply.

RE: Which is better?
 

An improvement to the new system, if that is what we're sticking with, is the abolition of the "stock photo". Those pictures are just noise, add to my load time and tell me NOTHING about the plane that is for sale.

If the seller does not have a pic of THEIR ITEM, go with no photo, less lines and maybe more info per page.

RE: Which is better?
 

The Chart is very comprehensive, it shows many advantages over the old system

Thank's for the info

RE: Which is better?
 

If you don't want to see thumbnails you can turn them off by using the drow down menu at the very top of the thumbnail column. Every stock photo inside an ad appears with clearly marked "STOCK PHOTO" under it.

Don't blame us for photos. A user can:

A) Upload their own photos with the ad
B) Use or Discard the stock photo
C) Use both custom uploaded photos and stock photo in same ad
D) Use zero photos


On the old system buyers would complain there was no price, no location, no ship to, no photo, mis-categorized. Again all choices of the seller. I find many always have on both old and new RCU blamed US for the way sellers list their ads. This system is a giant leap forward in that we require certain fields that were often not included (simple things like asking price).

Again it is up to the seller if they want a stock photo. I personally like them. They are clearly marked so I know it is NOT the actual item for sale but it is nice to see a picture of the item. I would hate to add another user preference that says "Don't show stock photo". It is so trivial that every extra option we put in further increases the complexity of the system. Stock photos are not a big complaint that I've heard just yet.

RE: Which is better?
 

Sorry, I have tryed and tryed again to like the "new and improved" RCU, and I cant, I prefer the old, sure all the misposted ad's where the posters fault, and should be delt with a heavy hand, delete the ad, plan and simple, But this New RCU just isnt for me, I cant get use to it, and trust me I have tried, I mostly miss the "Trade only forum", sence I did more trading then selling, or buying.

If you ever decide to add a "trade only" part or go back to the old site, please let me know.

RE: Which is better?
 

Hey Robert
How did the Spirit turn out with the power conversion??

I will try to let you know if the trades forum is brought back in some fashion or another.

Take care and visit once and awhile. you have you're PM and Email off so send me a PM if you have need of small things or things I might need.

Dan Z

RE: Which is better?
 

Trading already exists. Sellers can go to sell their items and simply check off "Willing to Trade". They can also note this in the title of their ad.

marc

RE: Which is better?
 

The "t" man said it best the homey feel is gone and so are the sub catagories that I used to narrow down my browsing. Yes I know I can "filter" but click after click after click to get where I want to be instead of one click from the first (and only )page got me there before sort of a built in filter. I have asked for expanded listing catagories before on the first page why cant the list appear when your mouse goes over the airplane listings in stead of having to go to a second page? Or use a little more space on the left side with an expand or contract catagory button so we dont have to go and load a second page and get to the 3D or Giants Or Accessories from the home page? With the need to "make an offer"it seems a little harder to rate people. I just bought my first item since the merge and really did not like the way it went down I got an e-mail From RCU instead of the seller and it did not tell me if the seller would accept paypal like I asked in the offer. He replied to my question if my offer was accepted with an address to send the money order to.After another e-mail he gave me a paypal address to send money to.A little convoluted if you ask me but I guess if it is what I got to do to get stuff here I will have to do it.Offers should be sent to the add as well as the seller. And why is it so hard to add a "traders " catagory to the left side too? People who want to trade do not want to plow through the "for sale" ads on the chance they might find something to trade they want a place of their own. I have seen many people ask for it so why not give it? Oh and by the way since there is no tool bar on the reply pop up I cant turn off my popup blocker so I will never be able to spell check with this system now either.